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2015

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I could not be more excited about 2015. For so many years it has seemed so far off, and it is finally here. It is the year I turn 24 and it’s the year I’ve been graduated for 2 years, which means I am officially an adult (as if I wasn’t already). I have so many things I want to do and so many things to look forward to! Remember my 101 in 1001 list? I got a lot done in 2014, but there is even more to come for 2015! I have a trip to New York City planned with my best friend, I’ve got a skydiving adventure booked and I’m looking at taking a cruise all by myself. 2015 is going to be about me. Not in a selfish way, but in the sense of being a friend to myself, just as I am to others.

One of my best friends creates a word for every year, and I absolutely love that idea! My word for this year is going to be Tiffany. I spent a lot of 2014 worrying about what others think about me, or how I can make everyone’s life easier, sometimes at the expense of my own sanity or happiness. If I’m going to be able to pour into others, I need to first look after myself. I love people, and I love doing things for others, but if I’m going to be able to continue having a generous heart for the rest of my life, I need to take care of it.

This is not a “resolutions” list, but rather a life improvement list. Things I want to to do improve myself and create a better, happier me.

1. Watch More Documentaries

I love to learn and now that I am not in school I don’t have as many opportunities to learn new things. Documentaries are a great way to improve your knowledge of various things while not taking too much time. You can turn one on while cooking dinner, cleaning or just relaxing. As a matter of fact, I am watching ‘Secret Yellowstone’ right now 🙂

2. Improve My Knowledge of the World

I’ve recently become super aware of how bad my geography skills are. I never had any classes on it in school, so I never really saw a need to take the time to learn it. Now, I feel like it is incredibly important to know where places are and bits of information about their history and culture. I find it fascinating to learn about the world and see pictures. I want to travel so many places, I might as well know more about it than just that it’s pretty. I just recently bought a world map to hang in my room and I am on the hunt for a globe that I can put on my desk!

3. Take Time for Fitness

I love the girls from Tone it Up. They provide constant reminders of how the body you have is the only one you will ever have so you need to take care of it. I got their New Year’s email with their ‘Love Your Body’ schedule for the new year. I’m excited to take on the challenge and run 100 miles by Valentine’s Day. I’ve also started going to Bikram classes and I really enjoy exercising in that way. You feel so clean and refreshed afterwards.

4. Write When I Want to Write

There are so many days that I get home from work and all I want to do is write, but I then start thinking about all the things I should do before I sit down and engross myself in my computer. I spend time cleaning and organizing rather than doing what I’m really wanting to do and then I wake up the next morning and feel like I didn’t accomplish anything the day before. When I get the urge to write, I’m just going to do it.

5. Learn to Say ‘No’

I am the queen of biting off more than I can chew. People always ask me to do things because they know I will say yes, but it often ends in me being frustrated or completely stressed out. If it is something I don’t really want to do or don’t have time to do it, then I just need to say no, if for no other reason than my mental health!

6. Enjoy the Now

If there is one thing I am guilty of, it is of looking too far in the future. I never sit back and enjoy what is happening right now. I don’t just appreciate the present. I want to start enjoying now so that when I’m 80 years old I don’t look back and regret how much I rushed through my 20s.

7. Think Positive Thoughts

What you have in your mind eventually comes out through your body language or the words you speak. I really need to work on finding the silver lining, removing myself from a negative situation, or improving the situation when possible, rather than just sitting and stewing on something, I am going to try to figure out if and how I can fix it or take myself out of it. I only want to think happy things so I can make myself an overall happier person.

8. Turn Weaknesses into Strengths

There are several things that I am not very good at, i.e. Geography, saying no, demanding respect, math, etc. I want to take time to make a real effort to turn these things into things I am good at, rather than beating myself up for not being good at them.

9. Let It Go

I hold on to everything. Every little thing I have ever done wrong I feel for years afterward. It’s a terrible, self-indulgent habit. It’s easy to beat yourself up, but if you’ve apologized and been forgiven, the beauty of grace is that it is over and you can move forward. I need to let things go and move on with my life so I can be a positive, healthy, happy adult.

10. Invest in the People Who Matter

There are real friends and there are fake friends. There are those people who you put on your ‘to do’ list for the week because you know you should text them or hang out with them, but it feels more like a chore than something you enjoy. You dread the date you have scheduled and you pray they might cancel. Those people aren’t people you should surround yourself with. I really want friends who treat me exactly how I treat them. I want friends that I can literally just sit and talk with without feeling the pressure to be perfect or say just the right thing. I recently read somewhere that you are the average of your friends, meaning, you take bits of each friend and incorporate it into your being. I want to be a fun, nice person who people want to be around, so that is who I’m going to surround myself with.

Here’s to a year of Tiffany. A year of having meaningful experiences and relationships. A year with no time wasted, because you never know just how much you have. I’m so excited for 2015, and I hope you are too! Happy New Year!